Tam High senior adds PG&E scholarship to list of accolades

The moment their model rocket blasted off the Tamalpais High School baseball field, Lauren Killingsworth and lab partner Allison Woodsworth broke into a sprint.

If they could manage to catch the rocket before it hit the ground, they would earn 10 percent extra credit on their physics class rocket-building assignment. So, with the rocket descending from a couple hundred feet above the infield, Killingsworth tracked down the rocket and grasped its parachute strings before it could touch ground.

Like most things the Stanford-bound senior sets out to do, Killingsworth was successful in her pursuit.

"Lauren is one of the most talented students I've ever had the honor of teaching," said Tam High history teacher Laura Garrett. "She's one of those rare students who is genuinely inquisitive about all aspects of the world around her."

In her four years of high school, Killingsworth has put together an impressive resume of academic feats, athletic achievements and volunteer work that has netted her award after award after scholarship this year. The biggest payoff for all her hard work — besides getting accepted at Stanford and a slew of Ivy League schools — came last week when she was named one of 10 PG&E Bright Minds scholarship winners in the state.

She found out she was a winner when PG&E representatives entered her physics class with an oversized $20,000 check, representing the annual payout she will receive from the energy company while she's in college.

"At PG&E, we're very interested in making sure the state of California is covered in the future with bright minds," said John Simon, a senior vice president with PG&E.

The scholarship is primarily offered to students who excel in and intend to study in the STEM fields — science, technology, engineering and math.

"I was STEM focused, and I think they appreciated that," Killingsworth said.

They probably appreciated some other traits, too.

Killingsworth played three years of varsity volleyball at Tam High, serving as team captain this past season. She rode on the school's club mountain biking team. Away from school, she volunteers at the Marine Mammal Center, raises puppies that are headed for guide-dog duty, and works with MLK/Bayside Middle School students in a science outreach program that she started and is funded through grants she applied for.

"I realized these kids didn't have access to science labs," Killingsworth said. "So I tried to figure out, how can you bring things like exothermic reactions to them?"

People close to Killingsworth acknowledged her natural abilities, but more so lauded her drive to succeed while maintaining humility in light of all her success.

"It's not just because she's naturally gifted," said Bella Levaggi, one of Killingsworth's best friends at Tam High and who is also headed to Stanford in the fall. "She's so passionate. She has this drive to do well in everything she tries."

The fruit of her drive is an impressive resume of accomplishments: Tam High valedictorian, 2014 County Science Fair Grand Prize, Elks National Foundation Most Valuable Student Award, Bio-Rad Ron Mardigian Science Scholarship, the Nordstrom Scholarship and more.

Killingsworth has earned so many accolades, she practically constitutes a beat for the school newspaper.

"We kind of have a joke that we don't write stories about her winning things anymore because it's getting kind of boring," said close friend and Tam News writer Emma Talkoff, who's headed to Harvard University.

Considering how much she manages to get done, it begs the question: Does Lauren Killingsworth ever take a moment to relax?

"She knows how to slow down," said her mother, Michelle Killingsworth, "but she's not one to forgo a challenge."

While Killingsworth hasn't settled on a specific career path, she said she will likely choose a major within the biology department, possibly focusing on molecular or neurobiology, with the idea of going into the medical field.

She got a dose of that kind of work at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Novato, where she took part in stem cell research on retinal degenerative diseases.

"When I find something I enjoy doing, I can't stop getting involved and finding ways of getting more involved and sharing it with other people," Killingsworth said.

If there is one thing she can't do, it's choosing a favorite activity.

"That's tricky," she said. "My volunteer work with animals has always been so enjoyable to me. I really like the outdoors and animals and nature. But it's really hard to pick one, because I really like science, as well. But I guess I like volunteering with animals. And with people, too."